


chapter 5 - last minute plans

by rogueonestan



Series: When Our Paths Cross [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Business Trip, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Male-Female Friendship, Some Humor, Some softness, bc i didnt know if that bar scene would be okay for a gn reader, idk when ill post next whoops, men being gross, so here it is lol, this chapter is literally the reason why its a f!reader and not gender netural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-19 03:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29868513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rogueonestan/pseuds/rogueonestan
Summary: after narrowly escaping the battle on nevarro, the planet of Gopani acts as a safe haven, that is until you step foot in the cantina.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Character(s), Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), Din Djarin/Reader, Grogu & Din Djarin, baby yoda and din djarin
Series: When Our Paths Cross [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138634
Kudos: 2





	chapter 5 - last minute plans

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first half of my next chapter (in total the entire chapter is like 8k so i wanted to split it in half) and idk when ill post the other half bc of midterms. enjoy.  
> also there's two men being gross to the reader as they hit on them so beware (not explicit but they're creeps)

“Stop it, I told you not to do that.” With your brain still hazy from just waking up from your nap, the voice sounds like it’s miles away. After escaping from Nevarro in a frenzy, you almost passed out immediately when your partner suggested that you should get some sleep while he watched over the ship and the kid.  
Everything that has happened ever since you first got the tracking fob for the baby has made it seem like everything happened so quickly. One moment you’re traveling to Arvala-7 for another bounty and the next thing you know you’re betraying the Guild to save a baby. If you’re feeling this exhausted after everything that’s happened, you can’t imagine how tired your partner must be.  
Child-like laughter comes from the level above you, with some sort of banging sound happening shortly after. Furrowing your brows, you decide to go investigate.  
Once you put your foot on the first step of the ladder, you hear another voice coming from the cockpit, repeating the sentence you heard just moments ago but in a more scolding tone, “stop doing that. I told you that’s not a toy.”  
“What’s going on?” You ask as you find your partner holding the baby by gripping at his sides as he holds the little one in the air.  
“The baby, he…” He trails off as you see one of the baby’s hands reaches up to his mouth. A sucking sound comes out of his mouth as his hand is now in a little fist. As you walk closer to the two of them, you finally understand what chaos you woke up to.  
Holding out your hand slowly towards the little one, his hand moves away from his mouth and meets yours. When your much bigger hand covers his, there’s a mixed sensation of warmth and cold that can be felt when his little claws lightly scratch at the coarse skin. A small silver ball can be found in the palm of your hand as you unravel it.  
You look at your partner to explain what you missed out on as you raise your eyebrows at him, “he was- he was trying to eat it and I told him not to, but he wouldn’t listen.”  
You can’t help but chuckle. You’ve had plenty of experience of being around children and their crazy antics. You don’t know how much experience Mando must have with the limited amount of Mandalorians that are left in the galaxy, but it’s probably limited.  
“That’s what children do.” You say as you shrug your shoulders at him, “they’ll do anything. They won’t listen- that’s just how they are.”  
“But he would’ve choked on it if I didn’t-“  
“That’s why you constantly have to have an eye on him.”  
“All the time?”  
“Yeah, they don’t know any better and it’s your responsibility as the adult to keep them out of danger, even if it’s from themselves.”  
A beeping comes from the console behind you interrupts the conversation you and Mando were just having.  
Before you know it, Mando is offering the child to you, in which you gladly accept, as he scrambles in the pilot’s seat. Looking over his shoulder with the baby tightly secured in the crook of your arms, you see the various colors that are on the exterior of the planet that you are traveling to.  
“Where’s our next stop?”  
“The Gopani system,” Mando replies as he toggles with a few buttons to his left, “it’s a nearly deserted planet except here,” he says as he examines the planet’s information, “there’s a cluster of people near the middle of the planet. We can land there, look around, and work our way from there.”  
“Sounds good to me.”

The landing on the Gopani atmosphere goes like any other landing you’ve had on a foreign planet.  
You only shifted in your seat a few times, tightly grasping at the sides of your seat as you try to minimize the amount of times you rock in your seat. As much as you love traveling the gaucho  
galaxy with Mando’s company, you’ve always hated landings in the Crest. Looking over to your right, you find the baby feels the exact opposite as you by the few giggles that he lets out with the biggest smile on his face, clearly enjoying the slightly bumpy landing.  
Even with the limited time the baby has been in your care, he’s been able to lighten up the Crest’s atmosphere in a matter of hours. From his giggles to his overall happy demeanor, it seems like the smile on your face hasn’t left since you saw that both Mando and the baby were able to escape the fight on Nevarro without being harmed.  
You wish that life with Mando would have always been like this, but maybe this is the start of something new. Maybe now, you’ll be able to see a different side of your partner. One that isn’t  
uptight all the time but one that he doesn’t share with the rest of the galaxy. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll finally be able to get to know more about the man underneath the thick layer of beskar- not Mando, but him.  
A slight tugging at the ends of your pants brings you out of your thoughts. As you glance down, you see the green little baby is continually pulling at your pants and is pointing in the direction that goes towards the lower level of the ship. After taking a quick glance around the cockpit, you see that only the two of you are now here. Mando must’ve left when you were too distracted with your thoughts.  
“Where did he go?” You ask the baby as you take him in your arms. He only lets out a few gurgling noises at you as one his hands motions to your right- where the door is still wide open, “well, I think we should go check up on him, don’t you think?” The only somewhat appropriate answer you get out of him is more giggles coming from him. Wrapping the strap of your bag from the floor, you decide to go investigate where your partner must have gone to.  
Making it down the ladder is a bit difficult when you only have one free hand, but you’re able to make it down with no problems. A soft grunt leaves your lips when your feet hit the ground, leaving a loud echoing noise in the hull. One of the first things you see as you look around is your partner is looking through his weaponry cabinet. A variety of weapons can be found, from different types of blasters to grenades to vibro knives.  
“You ready to go?” You ask as you look over at your partner’s shoulder.  
“You don’t need to come. It’ll be-“  
“‘safer if only one of us goes.’ Yeah, I know, you always say that.”  
“If anyone spots us together-“  
“They won’t-“  
“If they do, we’ll be putting it in danger.” Mando says as he motions to the baby that’s in your arms.  
“And with the both of us there, he’ll have twice the amount of protection.”  
“You’re not going to give up, are you?”  
You shake your head at him in response.  
He mutters something that you can’t hear underneath his breath. Probably scolding you and your stubborn behavior in the tongue of his people, something you noticed that he does whenever you’ve agitated him enough.  
You continue to stand in your position next to the weaponry cabinet as your partner walks away from you without saying another word, pressing the button that releases the hatch door. As he glances at you, seeing that you haven’t moved a single muscle, his helmet motions for you to follow suit, “come on, we don’t have much time.”  
You immediately follow right behind him, but not before you gently place the baby back in the pram so he can be hidden just in case something bad happens. Maker forbid it, but just in case.  
The walk to town doesn’t take that long. Along the way, you see a sea of trees that are home to various birds. Their chirps are the only sound that can be heard. After your experience of growing up on a world where noise is almost nonstop, the subtle noises of birds chirping and the gravel making a loud CRUNCH as you continue stepping in it is all that you can focus on as you walk towards the town. It’s not much, simple really, but you’ve come to really enjoy the quiet moments that have become normal with your partner. Whether it’s the two of you locating your next bounty after walking for a full day or two, or it’s the unspoken contact as you travel through hyperspace, you found the silence between the two of you to be unnerving at first but now you’re beginning to find the comfort in it.  
You thought Mando deciding to not speak to you, only when it was necessary, was because it was you, but you’ve come to realize recently that that’s not the case. That’s just who he is. He’s just a secluded person.  
For the longest time you thought you did something to offend him, maybe done something that he didn’t agree with, but within the past few days, you’ve come to realize that you were completely wrong. You thought his silence was a sign that he still doesn’t trust you, but it’s not that at all. Your partner may not be the most talkative man in the galaxy, but he shows his trust in various other ways, like mentioning about the hidden Mandalorian covert after your escape. He could’ve just said that the man flying next to the Crest is a Mandalorian and dropped the subject, but he showed his trust, albeit very subtly, by telling you about the covert that is now dispersed on Nevarro. His signs of trust are very different from what you’ve experienced in the past. Mando doesn’t use his words to convey how he feels, but rather, from his actions.  
That’s all you can think about as you admire your surroundings. Everything looks the same. The trees seem to go on forever. The birds continue to chirp. Their nests are secured on the highest branches of the trees to be away from the predators that lurk underneath. And the dirt underneath your feet continues to make a crunching noise the further you get away from the Crest.  
At one point, the outline of the town finally becomes visible after walking for a mile or two. From the looks of it, the town isn’t much, just a few shops open for business as they’re located in  
front of a few buildings- probably just a cantina and their homes.  
You don’t even realize how fast you guys have been walking when your partner, and the pram, come to a complete stop, waiting on top of a hill that drops right back to the streets of the town. The muscles in your calves immediately begin to untighten themselves as they begin to get the rest they deserve. A slight throbbing sensation can be felt as your legs continue to rest.  
“So, what was your plan once we got here anyways?” You ask as you glance over at your partner, “like ask where we take a wanted baby or where rogue hunters go?”  
Mando’s visor turns away from the outline of the town and towards you, tilting his helmet at you, as if he’s asking ‘really?’ without actually having to say anything.  
“Sorry. But what was your plan?”  
“We ask around and see what the locals know. We should probably start with the cantina and go on from there.”  
You expected him to walk on without your input, but to your surprise he waits for your response, in which you nod at him and give him your approval.  
It gets louder and louder the closer you get to town. Seeing the locals gets clearer and clearer. Children chasing each other in the streets. The vendors being friendly to potential customers. The scent of food cooking enters your nostrils. Everything about the town puts a smile on your face. It reminds you of the planet that you just left but it’s also so much more. It’s so unlike anything you were ever to experience as a child. It’s an experience that hopefully the child in the pram by your side will be able to experience plenty and be fond of those memories as he ages. You can’t imagine all of the horrors he’s already had to experience if the remnants of the Empire sent a plethora of bounty hunters after him. He deserves to at least have some resemblance of peace- even if it’s for a little while.  
And that can’t be possible when he’s in your care. He deserves to be able to roam free in the streets, to eat a warm meal every night, just like the children in this town are able to. As you walk past the children, the smile on your face only increases. They’re so carefree. They run and laugh without a care a world- in a world where they never had to experience the cruelty of the galaxy.  
You stop in your tracks as something hits the back of your leg harshly. As you look behind you, you find the group of children are trying their best to contain their giggles as a single red ball stands still right behind you. Shaking your head at them, you laugh along with them. Now you see why they were running in crazy directions.  
Bending over, you grab the red ball in your hands you quickly make your way to the small group of children as you smile back at them. Oh how you wish your childhood could be filled with moments like these- not filled with terror. The children’s faces all have mixed reactions: some of them are curious of who you are while others are scared by your tall figure, but the smiles slowly come back to their faces as you crouch down to seem less intimidating.  
Reaching out towards them, you offer their ball back to them, “I believe this is yours.”  
One of the kids, a young boy who couldn’t be older than seven, takes the ball gingerly from your grasp, “yes, thank you so much!” He exclaims as the big smile on his face returns from earlier, “so sorry for hitting you.”  
“It’s quite alright,” You say as a few giggles fall from your lips, “accidents happen.”  
You stand up from your crouched position and you’re about to say your goodbyes and make your way back to your partner so you can try to get out of here as soon as possible, but as usual, he beats you to it. The scared expression on the children's faces are now on all of their faces and you frown at the sudden change of their disposition.  
“We don’t have time for this.” You suddenly hear the all too familiar modulated voice, “we need to keep moving.” He says as he grabs your wrist a bit too tightly for your liking, as he tugs on it.  
You open your mouth to give some sort of rebuttal, but you know it’ll do no good. It’ll only cause your partner to be in more distress than he already is. And you know he’s right.  
The longer you’re on the planet, the more likely you’ll be spotted.  
With his grip still strong on you, you quickly glance behind you and you find the children have resumed their game. The sides of your mouth slightly lift up as a small amount of happiness enters your body for the moment. Small moments like the sight before you makes all of the horrors you’ve experienced worth it- even if you can’t experience them personally.  
The final tug on your wrist brings your attention back to your partner.  
“We’re here.” He states simply as his grip disappears.  
As you follow shortly behind, Mando tells you he’s going to ask around for information. Maybe about the surrounding systems. You begin to make your way to the bar. Maybe you can get information from the locals as well and get out of here as soon as possible.  
As you glance around the cantina, you find that it’s surprisingly crowded, especially considering it’s the middle of the day. The only time you’ve seen a cantina this busy in the middle of the afternoon is the one back on Nevarro and that’s because nearly the entire Guild in this sector lives there.  
A spot at the bar becomes available when one of the locals walks out the cantina. Taking the free spot, you order yourself a drink and as you wait for it to be made, two men approach you: one of them a Twi’lek and the other a human male.  
When they make their way to the bar, they trap you by standing on both of your sides, not allowing you to leave. You take in a deep breath, shutting your eyes shut, and just hope they leave you alone. But you’ve never had such luck, so why should it start now?  
“Here’s a new face.” The Twi’lek on your left begins. Out of the corner of your eye, you see that his dark blue lekku slightly bounce off of his back as he tries to get a better look at you. He’s only an inch or two taller than you. At first glance, he doesn’t pose that much as a threat. His friend on the other hand, seems to be more intimidating.  
“What’s a pretty one like you doing here all alone?” The taller man asks.  
“I’m just passing through, thanks.” You quip as your eyes look straight forward, not looking at anything in particular, but it’s something to focus on while the two men breathe down your neck.  
“Aw, come on, that’s no way to treat a stranger, ain’t it?” The human make, who has breath that smells worse than a bantha, says, “you’re here all by your lonesome. You must be a lonely thing.”  
You take in another deep breath and exhale out of your nose.  
Out all of the time you’ve been traveling all across the galaxy, you’ve met different types of people. There’s been generous individuals who tried their best to help you in any way they can and then there’s people like these two men, who just don’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer and are the absolute scum of the galaxy. You’ve met a lot of people like these two who always get up in your business for no apparent reason, maybe they want something from you, maybe they’re just bored, a bit intoxicated, but there’s something weird about these two. You can’t exactly put your finger on it, but something just seems weird about them.  
“I’ve been fine on my own, thanks.” You manage to say. The man on your right seems to be getting closer and closer to you the more you interact with him. With how close he is, it makes it harder for you to breathe. You can feel your heartbeat in your throat. You’ve even had to begin breathing through your mouth to make sure you don’t show how physically shaken up the man is making you. When you try to move away from the bar, but the man on your left doesn’t let you, grasping your wrist harshly, so unlike the grip your partner had on you just a minute or two ago. Even though Mando’s grip was a bit painful, you know it was only because he’s in such a hurry and wouldn’t outright try to harm you, unlike the Twi’lek on your left.  
“Where are you going? You haven’t even let us buy you a drink yet.”  
“I’m not thirsty.” And just your luck, the drink you ordered earlier arrives.  
“Here you go.” The bartender says as he walks away to take care of other customers.  
“Not thirty, eh?” The Twi’lek comments. You scowl at the man in response, scanning his body as he releases his grip on you. The Twi’lek has a smaller figure, a figure similar to your own. As you glance at the two men, they remind you of how other hunters must have seen you and Mando as. The human male has a much larger figure than his Twi’lek partner, much like you and Mando. Everywhere you went with Mando on business, everyone has always assumed that your partner was the one in charge, and in a way that’s true, but at first glance they wouldn’t know of how collaborative a relationship you have. Of how neither of you make a decision without the other.  
You know nothing of what their relationship is like, but you know better than to underestimate the Twi’lek based solely on the size of his frame.  
The much taller man says something to catch your attention, but you’re so lost in your thoughts that you only catch his last words.  
“-better company.”  
You can’t even think of a response. You don’t even care what in the galaxy the man is going on about. You just want to get out of here. As you glance around the cantina to find Mando, the two men take notice.  
“Looking for someone?”  
There’s no point in arguing with them anymore. No matter what you say will only continue to encourage them to talk to you. Maybe, just maybe, if you ignore them long enough, they’ll get irritated and leave you alone then you can move on with your day.  
“What, no response?”  
You only take a sip of your beverage as you look in front of you once again, just hoping this all could be over very soon.  
But you’ve never had such luck.  
“Not even a glance?”  
“You know, it’s rude to ignore a stranger.”  
“It’s also rude for you to harass them.” The words came out of your mouth so fast without a second thought before you could stop yourself.  
“Harassing?”  
“Are we harassing you?”  
“Considering you won’t leave me alone, yeah.”  
“You never told us to go away.”  
Looking over to your right, you find the man,  
the much larger man, is now towering over you as he tries to seem as intimidating as possible but it doesn’t work.  
His broad shoulders make him seem more intimidating than he actually is, along with his puffed up chest. The sight of him trying so hard to be as intimidating as possible is a sight to see.  
You’ve fought guys his size before and you could fight him now, but for the sake of blending in, you don’t.  
‘Just a few more minutes. Keep it together.’ You tell yourself.  
But the next words that fall out of the man’s mouth are what make your heart drop in the pit of your stomach.  
“You know, there’s a pretty large bounty on your head.”


End file.
